Death of a Salesman (Collection of five borderless oversize photographs from the original 1949-1950 Broadway production)

New York: W. Eugene Smith, 1950. Collection of five vintage oversize borderless photographs, taken during the original 1949-1950 Broadway production of Arthur Miller's 1949 play. All photographs bear catalog stamps and credit stamps of noted photographer W. Eugene Smith on the versos.

The production made its debut on February 10, 1949, at the Morosco Theatre, and ran for 742 performances, closing on November 18, 1950. Winner of the Tony Awards for Best Play, Best Supporting Actor, Best Author, and Best Director, as well as the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play has since been revived on Broadway five times, in 1975, 1984, 1999, 2012, and 2022, and has been adapted for the screen ten times, including the Academy Award-nominated 1951 film directed by Laslo Benedik, starring Fredric March and Mildred Dunnock.

Described by critic Sean O'Hagan in a 2017 article in "The Guardian" as "perhaps the single most important American photographer in the development of the editorial photo essay," W. Eugene Smith's innovation, integrity, and technical mastery made his work the standard by which photojournalism is measured. The W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund was established in 1979, a year after his death, to promote and support photographers whose work explores matters of global importance for humanitarian purposes.

10.5 x 12.25 inches to 10.5 x 13.5 inches. About Near Fine, with light edgewear, and two with small vertical creases to the bottom right corner.